"If we come together, try our very best, the sun can power the world, the wind the rest," (Kangarooz - Luke Wallace)
These are both lines from songs about climate change.
Climate change songs have never really caught on, as noted by the BBC in this mornings article. The article was inspired by the recently released 'Love Song to the Earth', which has been released to try and engage the public in the up and coming COP21 talks, which I'll be doing a post about closer to the time. The song aims to raise some publicity for the talks, and get people pressurising leaders to change. Public pressure is key to getting the energy generation mix to create a sustainable society, as unfortunately fossil fuels are cheaper (if they weren't, we wouldn't be having this debate).
The song certainly has the potential to get people talking, because it features the likes of Paul McCartney, Sean Paul, Fergie, Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Leona Lewis, Natasha Bedingfield and Colbie Caillate, not because of the lyrics, my favourite (worst) of which are from Mr Sean Paul himself:
"Mama Earth is in a crazy mess, it's time for us to do our best, from deep sea straight up to Everest,"
"Six billion people all want plentiness, some people think this is harmless, but if we continue there'll only be emptiness."
Anyway, hopefully it will get people talking before the COP21, below is the new song:
In your opinion do you think the message will get through to the wider public and allow for it to change public opinion?
ReplyDeleteI hope so. Songs obviously have the potential to make a difference, but the scale is an issue here. With Band Aid 1984 the situation was different. People were going to die in the immediate future, rather than people are going to die in decades or generations. This, rightly or wrongly, changes out perception of how important a cause is. I really hope this song does catch on as it's got big names and a heart in the right place, it's near impossible to predict if i actually will.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the attitude of the general public towards climate change (vs attitudes towards 3rd world poverty - regarding band aid 1984, for example) is largely to blame for the so far lack of success of this and other climate change songs? Or is it, as suggested in the BBC article you linked, that these songs are just awful?
ReplyDeleteOn the whole, I think people relate to people far better than they relate to anything else. So, do you think an increased focus on the impacts of climate change on people in these songs would increase their popularity? (And therefore make the differences they strive to)?
On your first point, I think that public attitude is different. Rational decisions on people dying from lack of food/water/sanitation is a very different situation to climate change, where the decision you might not affect you or anyone in the world alive at the moment. Having said that, the songs often aren't great either!!
ReplyDeleteSecondly, a great point. I do think people relate to other people easier than the atmosphere. Also, a lot of the impacts of climate change are secondary and extremely complex... whereas famine is neither. I do think an increased focus on the impacts in education will have an impact, whether it will in songs is a different matter, people have to listen to them first!
Do you think time scale of impact can still be a problem. in 1984 we saw people dying on screen. What do we see of climate change? Maybe show some more emotionally engaging pictures to cut through the talk.
ReplyDeleteFurther to the point of time scale if you are over 60 it doesn't seem a problem whereas 1984 starvation was with us whatever age you were.
Yes I think thats also an element! But that will start to change when islands start sinking and the affects of climate change begin to be felt now.
ReplyDeleteI think the combination of all the factors discussed in these comments are what makes climate change rhetoric not as effective as other challenges, such as poverty.